Fearless
by ShadowsOnTheMoon
Summary: With Aria recovering from a broken heart, it's up to her friends to rally around her and get her through this. But one friend in particular might be able to help her in a way nobody else can. SPARIA story, but other couples/characters will make appearances.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! My regular readers will probably notice I've been dabbling in Spoby a lot recently, but after a prompt from ****SpariaToTheNextLevel**** I have returned to my first love - you guessed it - Sparia! Now, this is a bit of change of pace for me, because this story will have minimal angst, no character deaths, and no twist endings. Promise. This will mostly be drama, fluff, humor, and other light-hearted things. It's not set during any particular season, and there's no A; it's just using the characters. If anything's not clear or you want me to elaborate on anything, feel free to PM me or leave it in reviews. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this, but I'll try to do it reasonably frequently, especially if I see people are enjoying it. So as always if you like it and want to see more, review! I'll see you guys next chapter (or maybe in some of my other stories? Hint hint).**

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"Come on," Spencer urged. "You don't even have to stay for long. Just five minutes. Please?"

The lanky brunette shifted her position, crossing one leg over the other and gazing imploringly down at her friend.

"Spence, I told you. I'm fine." Aria folded her arms and looked away, knowing that if she looked Spencer in the eyes the other girl would be able to see through her lie.

"If you're so fine, why are you still in sweats?" Spencer playfully tugged at the hem of Aria's pants, earning her a weary glare.

"Because they're comfortable," Aria grumbled, drawing her knees into her chest. "But really, I'm okay. You guys go without me."

"Uh uh." Spencer shook her head firmly, then got to her feet and started searching through Aria's closet. She pulled out a pair of jeans and tossed them onto the bed where Aria was sitting. "You're coming with us. So get ready. Emily's picking us up in ten minutes."

Aria rolled her eyes, but Spencer was currently wearing her 'Hastings face', which meant she wasn't about to argue or accept any excuses. With a sigh Aria grabbed the jeans and smoothed a couple of the creases, then stood up and looked at Spencer. "Look, I'm getting changed. Happy? Now go wait downstairs. I'll be down there in a minute."

Spencer gave her a searching look, trying to decide if she was genuinely going along with it or just planning on locking her out the second she left. "All right," she acquiesced. "But if you're not down there in five minutes, I'll -"

"I'll be there," Aria interrupted, already pulling a shirt out from her drawers.

"Good, because I couldn't think of a way to end that threat." Spencer waited a few minutes more, to make sure Aria was actually going to get changed, and then she turned and made her way downstairs.

Despite the brave face Aria was putting on, Spencer knew how heartbroken she was. It had been almost two weeks since Ezra had ended his relationship with Aria, who at first had seemingly taken it well, but had slowly been sinking into some kind of situational depression. She hadn't been to school in three days, she'd stopped eating unless someone literally placed a plate in front of her and watched her eat it all, and she wouldn't even open up to her friends. Spencer was craving some Sparia time, but all her attempts to initiate it were being shot down.

Spencer settled down on the sofa to wait, still contemplating. Five minutes later there was a knock at the door, and before she could respond it had swung open.

"Morning!" Hanna called brightly as she stepped over the threshold, sporting a new handbag to match her designer dress. When Hanna was upset, she shopped; and having an inconsolably heartbroken friend definitely upset her. Every time Spencer saw her, Hanna was wearing or carrying something new; she'd switch between buying herself new things and buying them for Aria, who'd just try to smile and then let the new dress or scarf or earrings fall to the floor.

"Hey," Spencer said, shuffling over to make room for Hanna on the sofa.

"Any change?" Hanna asked, sinking onto the seat beside her and casting a glance at the stairs, as if hoping Aria would bounce down them and declare herself over Ezra and ready to party.

Spencer shook her head. "I think I've convinced her to get out of her sweats and come to the Brew with us, but she is _not_ happy about it."

Hanna slumped back against the sofa, cradling a cushion and looking thoughtful. "You know what she needs?"

It only took one look to know what she was thinking. "No," Spencer said firmly.

"But -"

"No. Aria does _not_ need a one night stand to get over Ezra. She needs time, and love, and support from her friends."

"There's only so much support friends can give. What if -"

"Hanna. No. That's not what Aria needs."

The blonde opened her mouth for a sharp retort, but snapped it shut again as a voice spoke from the stairs.

"What don't I need?" Aria asked, trudging down the last few steps.

Spencer was relieved to see that Aria was dressed normally – well, what passed as normal for her. At the very least she wasn't wearing sweats. She hadn't put on any makeup, and her entire appearance was more subdued than usual, but the healing process had to start somewhere.

"Nothing," Spencer said hastily, and was saved having to come up with a decent lie by another knock at the door. "Hey, that must be Emily."

Ignoring the suspicious look that Aria was giving her, Spencer led the way to the door. Emily was standing on the other side, looking like she was about to ask how Aria was. Then she saw Aria herself and changed tactics. "Hi! Are you guys ready?"

"We sure are," Spencer chirped, and all but shoved Aria out the door. Helping Aria mend her broken heart was going to be a challenge, but Spencer had never been one to shy away from hard work. Whatever it took, she was going to get her best friend through this. She made the promise to herself as she stepped out the door, and even she could never have predicted just how true that would turn out to be.

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	2. Chapter 2

**What up, Sparia fans. Shoutout to that guest whose review was just enough to convince me to update a little earlier than I intended. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and most of all REVIEWED. You guys are awesome. Sparia was my first love on PLL and I'm so excited to get back to it, and to see that so many people are interested in it (and in my writing!). I have a rough outline for this, but I'm pretty flexible, so if there's anything you'd particularly like to see let me know and I'll try and fit it in somewhere. Now here you go, and thank you for waiting patiently.**

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Although she was trying not to, Aria knew that she was glaring. She couldn't really help it, and after everything she'd been through she figured she was entitled to at least a little bit of moping. But here she was, sitting in the Brew and waiting for her order of cheese fries, with her friends who loved her so much they wouldn't let her wallow in misery like she wanted to. She wasn't sure whether she should be annoyed or grateful, so she settled for ripping sugar packets to shreds and drawing swirls in the mess of sugar she scattered on the table.

"… right, Aria?"

"Huh?" She jerked her head up, totally confused since she hadn't been listening to a word her friends had been saying. They were all staring at her, evidently expecting an answer. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, then blurted, "I have to go to the bathroom."

Before anyone could react she shot from her seat and dashed for the back of the Brew. There was nobody in the bathroom, so she locked herself in an empty stall and leaned against the wall, breathing hard and trying not to let her mind run away with her. Her friends had always considered her to be the best liar out of the group, so why was she having so much trouble hiding things now, when she really needed to?

"Keep it together," she muttered to herself, at the same time as she heard the door swing open. She went still immediately, even though it was clear that she was here – it was the only occupied stall. Still, there was a chance it wasn't one of her friends, so if she just stayed quiet –

"Aria? Are you in here?"

Taking a deep breath, she called out, "Yeah. I'm here."

She could hear the other person – from the voice she guessed it was Hanna – take a few steps and then stop, like she was leaning against the sink. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Aria said automatically. "I'll be out in a minute."

She hoped that would be enough to assure Hanna that things were okay, and convince her to go back out. Instead it seemed to persuade her to stay, because when Aria emerged from the stall a couple of minutes later, Hanna was still standing there. Hanna gave her a searching look, and Aria found herself shrinking away from it.

"You didn't have to come and check on me," Aria said, turning on the tap and letting cold water spill over her hands. It helped to soothe her a little, but it didn't do much to take her mind off the way Hanna was still looking at her.

"You rushed out of there so quickly I'm pretty sure I got whiplash," Hanna said. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"It's fine," Aria said, doing her best to sound convincing.

"Aria." Hanna waited until Aria was looking at her before she continued, "You don't have to put on a brave face. Your boyfriend broke up with you; it's okay to be depressed over that. It's okay to spend a few days in your sweats, reading trashy magazines and eating Chunky Monkey. But it's not okay to shut us out. We're your friends, and we want to help. But we can't if you keep pushing us away."

Aria turned around so she was facing Hanna. "Do you remember when you broke up with Caleb?"

Hanna nodded, becoming guarded at once. Aria knew this was still a sore spot for the other girl; it had been a couple of months since Caleb has unexpectedly called it quits, deciding to go and live in California with his mother. Hanna had been heartbroken, and she'd only just really begun to heal. She'd have to tread carefully if she wanted to make her point without hurting Hanna even more.

"Do you remember how hard it was to even get out of bed? How you didn't want to talk to any of us, and you didn't even want to go _shopping_?"

"Is this going somewhere?" Hanna interrupted. "Or are you just trying to make the rest of us as miserable as you are?"

Aria glared at her. "I was about to make a point, so if you'd let me finish…"

Hanna spread her hands to indicate for her to go on.

"What I was trying to say was, when you were going through that, we gave you space. You needed time to brood before you could start healing. That's where I'm at now. I need to be able to move on at my own pace. And at the moment I don't even think I can talk to you guys about it."

The past couple of months were still very clear in Aria's memory. She remembered hours spent comforting Hanna as she cried, surprise visits laden with food and movies, bringing over her homework when she couldn't find the energy to turn up to school. And she knew that even if her friends did that for _her_ now, it wouldn't make a difference. With Hanna it was just a broken heart; with Aria it was more. Someday she'd be able to talk to them about how much she missed Ezra and how desperately she wished it had worked out between them. But there was something she would never be able to tell them. It was the reason she was so broken, and it was also the one thing she couldn't talk to her friends about.

"I get that," Hanna said. "You need time to mope and mourn and whatever else. But we can't just sit back and watch you be depressed without trying to help."

"The best way you can help is to give me space."

For half a second Aria thought Hanna might buy it, but the blonde-haired girl was giving her a very suspicious look. Before Aria could come up with an excuse to leave, Hanna said, "What's the deal? I've seen you go through break-ups before, and this isn't how it usually goes. What's different?"

A hundred things flashed through Aria's mind. She could spin some lie about how Ezra was the one for her, or about how it had just been a hard year and she was having trouble keeping her balance. She'd even opened her mouth to say that nothing was different, but instead she found herself blurting out the truth. "It's different this time because Ezra didn't break up with me. I broke up with him."

And then without another word she turned and strode out the door, leaving Hanna gaping behind her.

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**Hmm, why do you think Aria broke up with Ezra? Hit me with your thoughts and theories, I'd love to hear them. See you all next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there, Sparia fans. Great work reviewing last chapter! I was tossing up between updating this story and updating my new Spoby story, but this one had more reviews so I decided to go with it first. So give yourselves a pat on the back, and enjoy this next chapter.**

**Oh, and just in case you're tempted to stop reading, here's a teaser: next chapter will be an Ezria one, and you will find out why Aria called it quits. Stay tuned, guys, things are about to change...**

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When Hanna and Aria emerged from the restroom, the first thing Spencer noticed was how flustered they both looked. Aria sat down across from her, her face carefully neutral, only her slightly trembling hands giving an indication of her unease; Hanna sat down too, giving Aria a confused look.

"… so then she asked if I knew anyone who'd be willing to help her out, and I said you'd be up for it," Emily was saying, and with a start Spencer realized she'd tuned out.

"Sorry?" she said, dragging her attention away from Aria and Hanna.

Emily rolled her eyes and explained, "I _said_, Paige is doing this extra credit history project, but it needs more than one person. I'm too busy with work and swimming and everything, but I was thinking you'd be interested?"

"An extra credit project?" Spencer echoed. "Do you even have to ask?"

Hanna snorted. "You can practically hear your heartbeat speed up. Seriously, can anyone else see her _glowing_?"

"So I like getting extra credit," Spencer said defensively. "Forgive me for wanting to get into a decent college and be successful and do something with my life."

"Hey! I'm going to do be successful," Hanna protested. "I have a plan and everything."

Spencer shared a look with the others, and then gestured for Hanna to go on. "Let us hear this wonderful plan of yours then."

Hanna spent the next ten minutes detailing her plan, which seemed to involve winning the lottery, starting her own fashion company, and marrying the man of her dreams who conveniently had connections to billionaires who wanted to sponsor her company.

Although Spencer tried to listen, her mind and eyes kept drifting back to Aria, who was seeming further and further away with each second. When Hanna finished talking Emily asked her about some of the finer points, and Spencer took the opportunity to reach under the table and give Aria's hand a reassuring squeeze. Aria jumped at the contact, jerking her hand back.

"Woah, are you okay?" Spencer asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Aria mumbled, not meeting her eyes.

There was something different about her. Spencer thought back to the last time Aria and Ezra had broken up; Aria had been miserable for weeks, but she'd reluctantly let them help. And in time her broken heart had healed – incidentally just in time for Ezra to ask her out again, and the whole thing to start up again. But it wasn't like that this time. Aria was actively pushing them away, shutting them out, and Spencer felt powerless to help. While Emily and Hanna chatted about fashion and marrying millionaires, Spencer's mind started whirling with ideas. She had to cheer Aria up, no matter what it took.

The waitress arrived a few minutes later, bearing their dessert orders. Even the prospect of a caramel sundae didn't even bring a smile to Aria's face, although the others all dived into their meals with gusto.

"There's a movie starting in about half an hour," Hanna announced as they finished. She scrolled through her phone, evidently looking up the theater, and added, "It's that new one you mentioned to me last week, Aria. The comedy about the curse and the musician and stuff. Do you want to go see it?"

"That sounds great," Emily said, jumping in before Aria could say anything. Sometimes Emily's enthusiasm could be infectious, and there weren't many times when anyone could say no to her winning smile – but today was not a day for smiles or enthusiasm.

"I don't know." Aria looked down at her hands, uninterested. "I'm not really feeling up for it."

"Come on, you were excited to see it," Hanna pressed. "I'll even shout you."

"Han, that's sweet, but not necessary. I think I might just head home now."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure. Sorry, guys. Maybe some other time." Aria daintily placed her napkin on the table, left enough money to cover her food and a tip, and then trudged out of the Brew.

An uncomfortable silence followed her departure. A mother and three children came into the café, the kids all shrieking and running about while she waved her arms and growled half-serious threats. Finally she picked up her takeout order and ushered the kids out the door, and an even greater silence followed.

"I'm worried about her," Hanna admitted after a while.

"Me too." Emily picked at the edge of the tablecloth, then abandoned that so she could tug at the edge of her sleeve, clearly agitated.

"We've gotta do something," Spencer said, watching Emily fidget. "We can't just let her… _wallow_. We've let her mope and skip school and all the things she usually does, but it doesn't seem to be helping this time. I think it's time for a different approach."

"Like what?" Hanna dug her nails into the table. "We can't just force her to be okay. And it's not like it usually is, so -"

"What do you mean?" Spencer interrupted. "Not like it usually is?"

Hanna bit her lip, slumping back in her chair. "Nothing."

"No, not nothing." Spencer gave her a stern look, backed up by Emily. "You know something. Spill."

After wrestling with herself for a moment, Hanna sighed. "Okay. But you can't tell her I told you this, all right?"

Spencer and Emily nodded vigorously, and Hanna leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"Earlier, Aria told me… something. She said Ezra didn't break up with her. She broke up with him."

"What?" Emily raised her eyebrows, trying to comprehend this.

"If that's true," Spencer said slowly, working through the implications in her mind, "why wouldn't she have just told us? That doesn't need to be a secret. It doesn't make sense for her to _keep_ it a secret."

"She could have told us," Emily agreed. "It's not like her to keep things from us."

"It's also not like her to break up with the love of her life," Hanna said. "No wonder she's so down."

"Did she say why she broke up with him?" Spencer asked.

Hanna shook her head. "She didn't say, and I didn't have time to ask."

"Do you…" Emily bit her lip, and then forced herself to continue. "Do you think Ezra cheated on her? I can't think of anything else that would make her act like this."

"It's possible," Spencer mused. "Although I still don't see why she couldn't tell us about it."

"Come on," Hanna said, taking a bite out of her cookie and giving the others an incredulous look. "If Paige cheated on you, or if Toby had hooked up with some other girl while you were dating, would you have told us?"

Emily looked down at her lap and didn't answer.

"Point taken." Spencer exhaled slowly, deep in thought. She had to do something for Aria, something to bring the old Aria back and out of her Ezra-inspired depression, and she was beginning to get an idea. "I promised Melissa that I'd help her paint her room, but I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, see you."

By the time she reached the street, her idea was more than a shadow, more like a thread. And she knew exactly where it was leading her.

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**Hmm, what's Spencer up to now? Let me know what you think, and I'll see you next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. Thanks for the lovely reviews and waiting patiently. Unfortunately you may have to wait a little longer after this update, as I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo and therefore won't be writing much fanfiction for the next month. I'm sorry, and I'll try to update when I can, but I'm not sure how often that'll be. But for now, here's a nice little chapter that's kind of hopeful and explains a lot. Enjoy!**

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The next afternoon, Aria was sitting cross-legged on her bed, her copy of _Dracula_ open in front of her. She'd thought that reading something different, without the whirlwind romance and the tragic ending, would help, but instead it was just depressing her. Her mind kept drifting back to long summer evenings spent curled on Ezra's couch, watching black-and-white films or taking turns reciting poetry from a big leather-bound book.

"Stop it," she muttered aloud to herself, closing the book and focusing on the framed picture in the middle of her desk. It had been taken sometime last year, when she and the others had spent the day by the lake. It was so sunny that the light made their hair turn gold and their smiles seem even brighter. They all had their arms around each other, laughing like they were in the middle of a joke.

She needed to get her mind away from Ezra, and back onto the things that mattered now. Back onto her friends. That was easy enough, only… well, that was where part of the problem was. She'd always been able to turn to her friends, but now she found that she had to turn away, and it was killing her.

She dropped her gaze, unable to look at the photo for a moment more. Her eyes drifted over to her cell, which was lying on the floor near her bed, and she wondered whether she should call one of her friends. Maybe she should talk to Hanna, who'd been so confused by her sudden confession. Or she could call Emily, who was always so sweet and supportive. She could call Spencer, but that was sure to end badly.

She half made up her mind to call Hanna, and was even reaching for her phone, when the screen lit up and a beeping broke through the silence. She stared at the screen, at the caller ID, feeling her heart pound against her ribs like waves against sand, and at the last moment she snatched it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Aria," Ezra said, seeming surprised. "You answered."

"You called," she replied weakly, sitting on the end of her bed in case her knees should give out. She hadn't really spoken to him since they'd broken up, and she wasn't sure what she was meant to say now. Was he calling because he wanted to get back together? Because he wanted answers?

"I did." He cleared his throat, and she could picture him clearly in her mind: cheeks going slightly red, ruffling his hair as he tried to think of what to say. "I was wondering if you, uh, wanted to meet up."

There had been many times when Aria should have kept her mouth closed, and this was definitely such an occasion. "We're not friends," she blurted out, but as soon as she said it she realized how bad it sounded. "I didn't mean it like that," she added quickly; she'd already put him through so much pain, she couldn't stand to give him a second more. "I just mean, wouldn't it be kind of weird? Us just meeting up?"

"Weird, possibly," he conceded. "Beneficial? Probably."

At last Aria's curiosity got the better of her, and she agreed to meet him at the Brew in fifteen minutes. After the call ended she stared at the phone for a few more minutes, and then hurried to get ready. What she was wearing was probably fine – she'd worn it to school, after all – but she didn't want to just look _fine_. She needed the perfect outfit. One that said _I'm sorry we broke up but I don't want to get back together, _and _I'm doing okay but not so well you should feel miserable. _She didn't have any outfits like that, so after agonizing over a few choices she eventually settled on a pale orange dress with skulls scattered over it, and some feathery orange earrings.

She cringed looking at herself in the mirror – was it too much? Not enough? – but by then she was almost running late, so she grabbed her bag and dashed out the door without giving it too much thought.

Ezra was already there when she got to the Brew, so after pausing a second in the doorway, gathering her courage and steeling herself for whatever was to come, she walked over to him and slid into the seat across from him. He looked up from his book (of course he was reading, he always was; that was one of the things that had endeared him to her in the first place) and a smile spread across his face, but it was reserved, like he wasn't sure how it would be received. She gave him the most sincere smile she could manage, but the way his slipped a little was enough to make her realize she'd fallen short.

Aria cleared her throat, clasped her hands in her lap, and flagged down a nearby waitress so she could get some coffee. When it arrived she still hadn't said a word to Ezra, who was equally reticent. She sipped her coffee, trying to read the silence. It didn't feel hostile, but there was definitely tension and a lot of awkwardness.

"Well?" she prompted after a while, and Ezra sighed, closed his book, and fixed his piercing eyes on her.

In the few seconds before he spoke, Aria tried to imagine the things he could say: I want to get back together; I'm still in love with you; I'm over you; I was cheating on you; I'm leaving Rosewood. None of those seemed appealing, but almost all of them were plausible. But what he said was not something she had ever imagined he would say.

"I know why you ended things with me," he said in a rush, the words tumbling from his mouth and hitting Aria's heart like little pinpricks.

"You – what?"

"I know why you broke up with me," Ezra said, causing Aria's heart to stop beating entirely.

She took another gulp of coffee, which kick-started her heart, but it didn't stop the feeling of dread settling in her stomach. "Why do you think it was?" she asked, all the while telling herself, _There's no way he could know, he won't know, he won't, he can't._

He did. The next words that fell from his lips, those gorgeous, kissable lips, were like a death sentence for her. He kept looking at her after he said them, waiting for a reaction, a denial, anything. She froze, her grip on her coffee mug tightening as if it was the only thing that stood between her and being swept away in the flood.

"Why… how?" she finally choked out, enough of an admission to make Ezra's jaw tighten almost imperceptibly, as if it shattered the last hopes he'd had that it wasn't true.

"Give me some credit," Ezra said with a wan smile. "I was your boyfriend, but I was also your teacher. I saw you. I saw a lot more than you realized."

There was no way to argue, no use denying. "Why did you wait until now to tell me?"

"I was hoping," Ezra said with a calmness that just barely seemed forced, "that if I waited long enough, you'd tell me yourself. You left without much of an explanation, but it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. I kept thinking maybe you didn't know, and that when you figured it out you'd come and tell me. But now I'm starting to think you've known for a while."

If it was anyone but Ezra, she wouldn't be able to utter the truth. But it was him, and she knew she owed him the truth; it was the only thing left she could give him. "I've known for a while," she confirmed. "I just… I didn't know how to tell anyone."

Ezra nodded, giving her an understanding look that made her heart almost break. He was so sweet, and he'd been nothing but good to her. It was her fault things hadn't worked out, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.

"I didn't want to tell you because I wasn't sure how you'd react," she went on quickly, hoping it would hurt less if she just got it over with. "I didn't want to hurt you, and I didn't want you to think any less of me, and -"

"Woah, Aria, slow down," he said gently, reaching over to wipe away the single tear that had trickled down her cheek. "I didn't come here to chastise you, and I don't think any less of you. I came here to tell you that it's okay."

"It's… what?" She bit back a sob, surprised at how quickly her emotions had bubbled over.

"It's okay," he repeated, withdrawing his hand and placing it gently on top of Aria's on the table. "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you, but if you need someone to talk to about it, my door is always open."

Before she could even utter a thank you, his phone went off, and after he checked the message he squeezed her hand and got to his feet.

"I have to go now," he said, "but I wanted you to know that I'm not going to hold it against you if you choose to follow your heart. You deserve to be with someone who loves you, and who you love too. I'm sorry it couldn't have been with me, but I do want you to be happy."

Then he was gone, leaving her alone in the Brew with half a cup of coffee and a mind full of unanswered questions. But above all she was left with the knowledge that Ezra _knew_. He knew why she'd called it off, and he didn't hate her for it. Did that mean it would be okay? The she forcibly shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. It didn't matter. It could never happen. Telling herself not to be so hopeful, that she was bound to only be disappointed, she paid for her coffee and left the Brew, walking quickly in a vain attempt to outrun her thoughts.

But no matter how fast or far she went, Ezra's words kept swirling around in her mind.

_You're in love with Spencer._

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**Bam.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Due to popular demand, here is the next instalment. Sorry for the delay, November is my busiest month. But I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for too long. I'm hoping to do some writing tomorrow, so I may be able to update this again soon. Also, as I've said before, I'm winging it, so if anyone has any suggestions (characters you want to see more of, events you want to see happen, quotes you want to be included, etc) feel free to throw them my way; they might help get my creative juices flowing.**

**Thank you for the reviews last chapter, it's great to know people are liking my story. Fluff isn't really my thing, but I'm giving it a go. Oh, and while we're at it, would any of you lovely people like to do me a favor? I'm trying to decide which story to work on next, so if you have a bit of time would you mind going over to my profile and voting on the poll? Thanks.**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Don't forget to review!**

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As she walked away from Ezra's apartment, Spencer wondered if she'd done the right thing. She didn't know what had gone down between the two of them, but she had never seen Aria so broken. And since Spencer and the others were powerless to help her, she went to the only person who might be able to get through to her – Ezra.

Climbing back into her car, her heart still racing with fear of the implications of her actions, she ran through the past ten minutes in her mind. Driving to Ezra's apartment. Him opening the door, a polite but puzzled smile spreading across his face.

"Hi," he'd said, stepping back to let her in.

She hadn't answered, just walked straight in and spun on her heel to face him. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she knew how she wanted it to end. Ezra was the only one who could fix this.

"I need to talk to you," she said once he'd closed the door and given her a quizzical look.

"Uh." He tilted his head, as if trying to figure out what on earth she could possibly be here to talk to him about. In her mind it was obvious; she had nothing in common with him besides the small dark-haired girl they both loved. "Sure. Do you want some coffee or something?"

Automatically Spencer started to say yes, but then she stopped herself when she noticed a slight tremor in her hands. For once, coffee was not the answer to her problems. "No thanks," she said, sounding more dismissive than she'd intended.

"Okay." Ezra gestured for her to sit down on the couch, and he sat down on a chair opposite her.

There was silence, the kind that made Spencer nervous – because she was the one who had to break it. But it stretched on for so long, while she tried to collect her thoughts and force them into some kind of order, that Ezra stepped in.

"This is about Aria, isn't it?"

Spencer gave him a tense nod.

Ezra leaned forward, running a hand through his hair. "What did she tell you?"

Caught off-guard by his manner, Spencer paused. "What do you mean?"

"You obviously know we broke up," Ezra said. "And I'm guessing you're not here for tea and crumpets. Which means Aria must have told you something to get you all up in arms. That's why you're here, right? To lecture me? Shout at me? Something like that?"

"What?" Spencer sat up straighter, suddenly feeling like her dignity had been threatened. Sure, she was protective of Aria, but she wouldn't have come over here to yell at her own English teacher; he would have had to do something seriously unforgivable for her to risk her GPA over it. "No. I'm not here to yell at you. I'm… I'm here to ask a favor."

Once she'd told him what she wanted, he'd become less defensive. Some of the tension had disappeared, and they'd managed to have a calm conversation about it. Spencer admitted that she knew Aria broke up with him, and that they hadn't talked since then. She told him about how badly she was doing – not enough to cause him great alarm, or to betray Aria's trust, but enough to urge him into action.

He'd been guarded at first, but the longer Spencer spoke the more he seemed to soften, until finally he just nodded and said, "I'll talk to her."

Spencer didn't know how that conversation would go, but she hoped it would end up giving Aria some kind of closure. Maybe she thought Ezra hated her; maybe she was worried he was still hurting. And once she saw that he was okay and wasn't holding a grudge against her, she might be able to let herself start healing.

For now, though, all Spencer could do was wait. She headed back home to collect her things – she was headed over to Paige's house to help her with her project. She still wasn't entirely sure what it was about, but if it would get her extra credit she was all for it. When she reached Paige's house the other girl invited her in warmly, showing her into the living room, in the middle of which was a table covered in paper, books, and cardboard. A smaller table off to the side had an array of snacks and drinks.

"Nice set up," Spencer said appreciatively, settling down cross-legged at the low table and beginning to sort through some of the papers.

"Thanks." Paige smiled, plucking a cookie off the table and nibbling on it. "So what did you have on today?"

"Uh." Spencer had told Paige she couldn't meet her right after school because she had another commitment, but could she really share that kind of information with her? Emily loved and trusted Paige, but she'd never really been close with the other girls. Spencer gave her a sideways look; Paige met her eyes, patient and encouraging. Taking a chance, Spencer admitted, "I had to go see Ezra."

Paige raised an eyebrow, reaching for a highlighter. "Mr Fitz?"

"Yeah." Spencer scanned the outline for the project; it seemed easy enough, just time-consuming.

"Was it about an essay or something?"

"Not exactly."

Paige just nodded, not pushing for information, and somehow that made Spencer want to open up. They worked in silence for a few minutes, organizing piles of paper and bookmarking pages, and then Spencer looked up and added, "I went to see him about Aria."

"Oh?" Paige said, glancing up from a folder filled with color-coded Post-It notes. "What did you say?"

"You know he and Aria were dating, right?"

"Yeah, Em told me."

"Well, she's been kind of in a slump since they broke up."

"So you went to see her ex-boyfriend?" Paige asked, evidently struggling to understand.

"I thought that if he talked to her, he might be able to convince her that it's okay for her to move on." Spencer sighed, wondering again if she'd done the right thing. "I mean, it's not like she was listening to any of us. So it was the right thing to do, wasn't it?"

"Are you talking to yourself or expecting me to answer?"

"Whichever," Spencer said with a weary laugh. "It's done now, so I don't suppose there's any reason to dwell on it."

"For what it's worth," Paige said, handing Spencer a pair of scissors and a piece of cardboard so she could start on the decorations, "I think you did the right thing. You're a good friend, and Aria's lucky to have you."

"Thanks," Spencer said, but she couldn't help but notice a twinge of sadness behind Paige's words. She didn't know much about Paige's past, but from what she understood it hadn't been smooth. After the initial trying-to-drown-Emily fiasco, Spencer had been reluctant to have anything to do with her, but Paige had slowly proven herself to be loyal and a lot more trustworthy than she'd given her credit for. As they fell into companionable silence, writing and cutting and gluing, Spencer wondered about Paige, about what could have happened to her to make her words so sad and her smile always seem a little bit hesitant.

But as an hour passed, and then another, Spencer found her mind wandering, and it landed on a familiar topic: Aria. She hadn't heard from her, but did that mean the conversation with Ezra had gone so well that Aria was off somewhere having fun, or so badly that she was hibernating in her room and didn't want to talk to any of them? A couple of times she reached for her phone, but then she had to remind herself to give Aria space.

She had to wait for Aria to come to her when she was ready. But if this plan didn't work, she was going to have to reconsider whether Aria would ever be ready.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Spezra and McHastings in one chapter; couldn't resist. I know this chapter ends on kind of a sad note, but things will get lighter. There's some cute Sparia stuff next chapter, so I hope to see you there.**


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